It wasn’t too long ago that the Gahr High football team was all about passing more than running. But the 2017 season showed that the Gladiators can run the ball as well, and at the same time, set a school record. Norwalk High and Valley Christian High made the playoffs once again for football, extending their postseason streaks while John Glenn High had a turnaround season and was on the brink of a playoff berth. On the volleyball court, the usual area teams had extended seasons as they always do. Here are the members of the 2017 HMG-Community News Fall All-Area Teams.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

QB-David Sanchez (John Glenn)

RB-Micah Bernard (Gahr)

RB-Heder Gladden (Artesia)

RB-Gianni Hurd (Valley Christian)

WR-Tim Stevenson (John Glenn)

WR-Jaylon Tucker (Valley Christian)

LT-Tevita Makaafi (Valley Christian)

LG-Kyle Alsberry (Gahr)

C-Sam Range (Valley Christian)

RG-Roman Niumata (Gahr)

RT-Ramon Huerta (Cerritos)

FIRST TEAM DEFESNE

DL-Dimitri Hernandez (John Glenn)

DL-Tavita Makaafi (Valley Christian)

DL-Allen Parrish (John Glenn)

DB-Aaron Clay (John Glenn)

DB-Ryder Eddy (Cerritos)

DB-Aaron Hawk (Gahr)

DB-Ivan Ramirez (John Glenn)

LB-Brandon Barrett (Norwalk)

LB-Darian Green (Valley Christian)

LB-Adrian Manzanares (John Glenn)

LB-Samuel Talavera (Valley Christian)

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

QB-Isaac Joseph (Valley Christian)

RB-Darian Green (Valley Christian)

RB-Carlos Pulido (John Glenn)

RB-Xavier Yoakum (Artesia)

WR-Eric Baker (Cerritos)

WR-Jake Frechette (Gahr)

LT-Mason Hernandez(Gahr)

LG-Robert Chatman III (Valley Christian)

C-Nicholas Morales (Gahr)

RG-Jake Leue (Valley Christian)

RT-Chance Byrd (John Glenn)

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

DL-Ikenna Ahumibe (Gahr)

DL-Jake Leue (Valley Christian)

DL-Stanley Monis (Artesia)

DB-Travys Davis (Artesia)

DB-Adam Meza (Valley Christian)

DB-Billy Moore (Norwalk)

DB-Jaylon Tucker (Valley Christian)

LB-John Armas (Norwalk)

LB-Darius Blue (Cerritos)

LB-Etieni Valele (Norwalk)

LB-Xavier Yoakum (Artesia)

HONORABLE MENTION OFFENSE

QB-Colby Nielsen (Cerritos)

RB-Tye Anderson (Cerritos)

RB-Billy Moore (Norwalk)

RB-Ugonna Olumba (Gahr)

WR-Carlos Manriquez (John Glenn)

WR-Bailey Torres (Valley Christian)

LT-Brandon Logan (Artesia)

LG-Jymel Johnson (Cerritos)

C-Edward Barajas (John Glenn)

RG-Tajin Golightly (John Glenn)

RT-Corbin Ziemke (Valley Christian)HONORABLE MENTION DEFENSE

DL-Calvin Jones (Gahr)

DL-Anthony Lovett (John Glenn)

DL-Sam Range (Valley Christian)

DB-Brad Harbin (Gahr)

DB-Christian King (Cerritos)

DB-Jeremy Matthews (Gahr)

DB-Derek Talsma (Valley Christian)

LB-Codi Guinto (Cerritos)

LB-Jared Nam (Cerritos)

LB-Anthony Nava (John Glenn)

LB-Renso Sandoval (Gahr)

Offensive Player of the Year-It may be a long time before another player like senior running back Micah Bernard plays on a Gahr football team. But in 2017, he transformed the offense in a big way and guided the Gladiators to a quarterfinal appearance in the California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section Division 10 playoffs. Bernard rushed for 2,415 yards and scored 27 touchdowns. He had a stretch of three straight games where he scored four touchdowns in each of those contests and had 10 touchdowns of at least 6o yards.

Co-Defensive Players of the Year-The only two area players with over 100 tackles get this label as Cerritos High senior safety Ryder Eddy and Valley Christian senior linebacker Darian Green dominated their respective schools’ defenses. Eddy led the Dons with 124 tackles, had an interception and one quarterback sack. He averaged close to 14 tackles a game and was the only Cerritos player to average more than eight tackles a game. Green had 125 tackles, an average of 10.4 a game, an interception and one quarterback sack and one interception for the Crusaders. No other V.C. player had more than 66 tackles.

Coach of the Year-It was just a matter of time before John Glenn turned the page, but the Eagles might be on their way to greater things, thanks to head coach Vince Lobendahn. The fourth-yard coach guided Glenn to a 5-5 season, the most wins by and Glenn team in over 20 seasons. The Eagles opened the season winning four of their first five games, posting a pair of shutouts in the process.

GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

FIRST TEAM

S-Emily Pasion (Cerritos)

OH-Amber Han (Cerritos)

OH-Madison Holmes (Valley Christian)

MB-Anneka Bakker (Valley Christian)

MB-Olanna Olumba (Gahr)

OPP-Jackie Dixon (Gahr)

DS-Jackie Quijada (Norwalk)

L-Hannah Buckley (Valley Christian)

SECOND TEAM

S-Megan Lim (Valley Christian)

OH-Samantha Oh (Cerritos)

OH-Aubrey Schwieger (Valley Christian)

MB-Kelly Amalu (Cerritos)

MB-Nneoma Izima (Gahr)

OPP-Candice Palmer (Valley Christian)

DS-Kea Minami (Cerritos)

L-Sidney Pasion (Cerritos)

THIRD TEAM

S-Danielle Gomez (Norwalk)

OH-Mariah Iosua (Gahr)

OH-Marissa Reyna (Norwalk)

MB-Taylor Genera (Whitney)

MB-Muna Okoli (Cerritos)

OPP-Elexus Moralez (Norwalk)

DS- Julia Sanchez (Norwalk)

L-Arely De Avila (Artesia)

HONORABLE MENTION

S-Julianna Carvajal (Gahr)

OH-Gloria De La Cruz (John Glenn)

OH-Ayanna Jimenez (Artesia)

MB-Esmeralda Aispuro (Norwalk)

MB-Denise Cardenas (John Glenn)

OPP-Carissa Ayala (Gahr)

DS- Daisy De Avila (Artesia)

L-Chloe Tran (Whitney)

Player of the Year-As was the case last season, Valley Christian’s Madison Holmes continued to dominate in several ways, leading the Lady Crusaders with 351 kills. The senior outside hitter had 296 kills last season, along with a .210 hitting percentage. She also had a team-high 30 blocks this season and 267 digs, four shy of the team lead.

Coach of the Year-After two disastrous seasons, John Glenn had a vast improvement under first-year head coach Mariel Turner. Although the Lady Eagles finished in sixth place in the Suburban League, Turner guided the team to an 8-13 season, which included a 6-2 start to the season. The biggest win of the season came on Sept. 26 when Glenn trailed host Artesia High 2-0 in sets played and 20-6 in the third set before rallying to win the next three sets. The Lady Eagles also took third place Norwalk to five sets on Oct. 12 at Norwalk.